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ChefTalk Cooking Forums - Blogs http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/ ChefTalk.com Cooking Forums - Food and Cooking disucssion for the professional and the at home cook. en Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:19:45 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/images/styles/cheftalk/misc/rss.jpg ChefTalk Cooking Forums - Blogs http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/ Halloween - here and gone http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/530-halloween-here-gone.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:44:04 GMT First of all, thanks to those who told me my web site was down. I forgot to renew my site registration in October. All is well now.

I didn't open on Halloween. The landlord didn't get his act together and get the building inspected, nor did he get the electrical work done. I went through **** with my equipment vendor and the delivery of my walkin was delayed 10 days which delayed my contractor. I'm going to have a heart attack or I'm going to learn ultimate patience. At this moment I can't say what will happen first.

I definitely chose the wrong equipment vendor. He did save me $10.000 over the guy I should have gone with, but at the time I was looking to save money. I paid for all my equipment a long time ago and asked the vendor to store it for me. Unbeknownst to me, he didn't store it. He didn't even buy it. I asked for my equipment and week after week his assistant said they were arranging to get it shipped to me. After a month of this I spoke to a lawyer who sent them a letter that they had 2 days to deliver or my order would be canceled. The assistant called asking for more time and I was firm with the 'NO'. Amazing how fast things arrive when a lawyer is involved. I shouldn't have to do this. So the equipment was shipped to my site and I compared the invoice to the model numbers on the box. My double convection oven ended with a -1 and I had ordered a -2. I refused the order only to have the assistant call and explain that a double convection is actually two -1's stacked. She said I had to pay the $180 to get it back because they hadn't made a mistake. I argued and lost. They couldn't deliver my walkin in 2 days so I got the money back and went to the more expensive guy. I paid more and he placed the order. Later he told me that the first vendor never placed the order for my walkin. Equipment providers know he doesn't pay bills quickly so they make him pay up front and he didn't want to do that. No telling how long I would have waited if I had counted on him.

My walkin arrive last week and today I walked into my kitchen to see it assembled. I went inside and just sighed with contentment.

The space is moving along quickly. All my contractor's inspections except for the final one are done. The tile is laid and the equipment should be installed this week. I should be getting my health department inspection early next week and then really, truly opening.

I need to assemble and wash everything. I have metro racks in pieces, dusty and dirty sheet pans, equipment still in boxes and wrapped, towels to wash. I sent a note to my prospective clients telling them I'd trade an hour of kitchen time for an hour of their helping me put this together. So far I've had two volunteers. I'm excited that I get to see these people face to face given how long we've been emailing.

So, still waiting. Still tapping my foot. Still chewing my nails. More next week.

Gail

www.steelmagnoliakitchen.com ]]> scifimom http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/530-halloween-here-gone.html CFG IX, Digression into Measurements for Baking, Plus More General Principles http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/529-cfg-ix-digression-into-measurements-baking-plus-more-general-principles.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:48:02 GMT There's plenty more CFG knife, sharpeining and knife skills maundering to be posted; and I promise to add at least one more entry this week. But this whole baking by scale thing came up, and I thought it was worth an entry if only for the way the subject relates to my outlook in re CFG.

In relevant part this entry is also posted in a thread Dave (dscheidt) started in the Pastries and Baking forum here at CT.

Swimmers up. Take your mark. Bang!

Preface, Speaking of viewpoints:

dscheidt (aka Dave) started this thread (at my suggestion) mostly as a way of expressing his own viewpoint regarding the superiority of measuring by weight in bread baking, and partly as a way of dragging out mine. Although Siduri was eloquent in expressing an opinion I share for the most part, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't participate.

As it happens, I have multiple viewpoints on the subject reflecting (2) How I bake; (3) How I write; (4) How I think beginners should learn to bake, and how advanced beginners and intermediates can improve their baking; (5) Which methods I think are best for home bakers generally; and (1) How I think other people should bake.

This merits inclusion in the darn blog. So, I’ll edit it just a bit after posting to make sense in that context, and put it there too.

1. Other People's Bread Baking:

Let me tackle the last first with the liberal, inclusive, and uninteresting thought that whatever works for you is fine by me. I'm not about to tell you to change.

2. My Own Bread Baking:

"+ 1" with Siduri, in spades.

Not only no scale, sometimes I don't even use official measuring cups and go strictly by eye ("by eye" isn't the same as not measuring). Even though that's sufficiently accurate for good results down the line, in order to get flour out of the flour jar neatly, and without catastrophically huge flour dumps, a scoop is required. Since I know the volume of nearly every glass and cup in my kitchen, using one isn't much different from using a measuring scoop. Anything dry and small gets measured in the palm. When it comes to liquid measurements – same Mark II GI Eyeball, same glasses and cups, and yes I do have glass measuring cups of all sizes.

Unsurprisingly, that mishmash of measuring is how I cook almost everything. And that sort of ad hoc measurement is pretty common with cooks who've [shudder] done it for [sob] money.

If you care about how I cook while not actually standing in my home with a cold beverage in one hand, an hors d’oeuvre in the other, and hunger in your belly – you shouldn't.

3. Writing Bread Recipes:

There are a lot of audiences and a lot of ways to go about writing a bread recipe. One quality they should all share is that of being “perfected” before being made generally available.

“Perfecting a recipe” is actually a term of art for a professional cook. It doesn’t mean tweaking a recipe to make it as good as it can possibly be. What it does mean is making a recipe which can be followed by the intended reader, and from which the reader can produce a good result – similar to that intended by the writer.

No matter how the writer first made the bread (or dish, or whatever), she (or he as in my case) must communicate ingredient amounts, necessary equipment, techniques, sequences, temperatures, etc., in an understandable way. With amounts, that means measurements which are reproducible to a degree of accuracy satisfying the “the reader can produce a good result – similar to that intended by the writer” component.

As a practical matter, perfecting a recipe from the “pinch of this,” a “little more of that” process of creation, involves a significant amount of rounding off. A recipe writer understands that this is not only a function of the amount of leeway allowed by the ingredients in relation to the ultimate loaf, but of what measuring tools the reader is likely to have and is comfortable using.

The result component also takes us back to the “lot of ways” thing. If writing a regular cookbook about bread baking, in order to appeal to the widest possible audience, it would be a VGT (very good thing) to to include all three major forms of measurement – volume, weight and normative metric. Not to mention, good manners. However, when writing a methods and techniques driven cooking course, perhaps it might best serve the writer and his or her readers to select those which are most conducive for the task.

Nice segue, what? (Where’s Nigel Bruce when you need him?) What?

4. Teaching How and How Better Through Better Writing aka“Rubber meet road; road meet rubber”:

NB. Yes, it’s serial repetition, but will nonetheless be repeated serially: I’m not trying to teach how to cook by following a recipe. I’m trying to teach a level of method and technique allowing the reader to follow and/or improvise upon recipes she finds of interest; and to develop her own recipes without undue trial and error.

Let me start this with the thought that I’m increasingly open to including scale driven, weight measurements along with volume measurements in CFG if only for the sake of good manners.

That said, I think using a scale detracts from the most important parts of teaching and learning home bread baking, and of teaching and learning to bake bread better at home. Each and every one of those important things is sensorial, not metric.

At this time, I feel scale-driven recipe quantities, within the context of my intentions, are more harmful than helpful for several reasons. Most of these devolve from the sense that the author’s measurements are so perfected they are fixed and immutable. This is wrong on so many levels. For instance, weight does not accurately reflect humidity. 1,000 gm of humid flour and 1,000 gm of dry flour weigh the same. Yet they will ultimately reflect different levels of hydration. In a larger sense, this goes to the fact that baking is very sensitive to environmental conditions. Almost always, the best way to find the correct flour/liquid ratio is through observation and successive iteration at the mixing and kneading stages, involving sight, touch, and plenty of bench flour.

One aspect of technique driven cooking is learning what is and what is not important. The history of baking is much longer than the use of standardized weights and measures in cooking. People – including home cooks and professional bakers – used idiosyncratic (in the sense of being individualistic) measures, yet still managed to turn out good bread. Did baking get better with the introduction of Pyrex graduated measuring cups? No, at least not that I’m aware of. What about with electronic home scales? Same answer; although to be fair as measuring became increasingly standardized and accurate, recipe driven results have probably become more consistent.

If this sounds critical of scale-driven recipe writing or scale-driven baking, it isn’t meant that way. It’s all about CFG and that’s a very narrow scope indeed.

5. How YOU SHOULD bake:

Refer to “1,” near the beginning of this screed, while holding the following thought: “Like I’m going to tell you.”

The best advice I can give is to pay attention to your eyes, hands, and the dough itself, once everything’s been measured. ]]> boar_d_laze http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/529-cfg-ix-digression-into-measurements-baking-plus-more-general-principles.html <![CDATA[Part VIII O'The Blog - MORE KNIFE STUFF]]> http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/524-part-viii-othe-blog-more-knife-stuff.html Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:38:37 GMT *MORE EDGINESS, MORE ANGST, MORE MONEY: MORE CHOOSING A KNIFE* OR, SOME THINGS YOU DON’T THINK ABOUT WHEN IN THE FLUSH OF ACQUISITION LUST, BUT YOU REALLY SHOULD. Thanks in advance for bearing with me as I try and cobble all this stuff together. On the other hand, you knew the job was... MORE EDGINESS, MORE ANGST, MORE MONEY: MORE CHOOSING A KNIFE

OR, SOME THINGS YOU DON’T THINK ABOUT WHEN IN THE FLUSH OF ACQUISITION LUST, BUT YOU REALLY SHOULD.

Thanks in advance for bearing with me as I try and cobble all this stuff together. On the other hand, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.

For those poor souls reading this in the sort of piecemeal fashion in which it’s presented, and for those who have read me on the topic before, it bears repetition (and a good thing too, because it has and shall be oft repeated), that a good knife choice depends on consideration of the cook’s knife skills (not only now, but including her or his future plans), and sharpening regimen.

Just Scratching the Surface of Sharpening:

Still more repetition: All dull knives are pretty much equal. It doesn’t matter how good it is when it’s sharp – when it’s dull, it’s junk. Don’t spend a lot of money or invest a lot of hope in a knife you won’t sharpen. Keeping a knife sharp DOES NOT INCLUDE sending it out once a year and using a rod hone (aka steel), especially an inappropriate steel, during the interval.

Plan on learning to freehand sharpen, which includes purchasing an adequate stone kit; or getting a good jig and tool sharpener like a rod-guide plus clamp (Lansky and Gatco are both good, but very fussy); or a rod guide plus table (Edge Pro, also fussy but less so; considerably more expensive; and very highly recommended); or a good machine which pretty much means a Chef’s Choice – they’re about as good as machines get, incredibly convenient, but they’re a one (or two) edge profile fits all knives solution which may not suit your knife kit.

Less good (as in you won’t get as good an edge as you would with the previous options) options:

One type of pull through, like a MAC Rollsharp, or a Chef’s Choice; but not a carbide “v” groove pull through. You can actually get a pretty decent edge with the good sort of pull through, but they take forever and are limited in two of the three functions of sharpening. That is, they sharpen OK (but slowly) and are way too slow for repair or profile; and way too coarse to get a decent polish.

With one exception the carbide “v” guides which sharpen adequately also eat knives. So if you like your knife or have any money in it – stay away. The exception is the Meyerco sold by Blackie Collins.

Pretty much everything that can be said about the good pull-throughs, may said as accurately about the good “V” sticks – the best of which are the Spyderco “Sharp Stick,” and the big Idahone; with the Lansky “Crock Stick” and regular size Idahone right behind.

Getting a Grip on Knife Technique, aka Mad Skilz:

“Mad Skilz” at this point is propaganda. It’s a meal in itself, and deserves a thorough discussion which we’ll get to another time. For now I’m only going to touch on it insofar as it bears on knife choice, which it does considerably. As a preliminary to conceptualizing the subject, it’s not a bad idea to reduce all the topic into three parts: The Belgae, the Aquatani and the Celts (whom we call the Gauls). Oops. Wrong three, got carried away for a minute.

To all who got the joke, you’re old, the victim of too much education, or both. But I digress. Where was I?

Oh yes, three parts: grip, offhand, and squaring. For knife choice purposes the grip is most important – but again in the interests of getting the concept and getting preliminaries out of the way.

Don’t look for the word “squaring” in a book on knife skills, just go ahead and blame me. I like it because it unites a bunch of related things, which at first blush seem unrelated. Feel free to ask, “How?”

(1) It’s extremely useful for safety and precision to square the food off (i.e., “block” it), before cutting slices (aka planks, aka leaves) which can either stand alone or precede cutting sticks; which in turn may stand alone or precede cutting dice;
(2) For safety and precision, the food should be held square to the cook;
(3) The knife should be held square to the food; and
(4) Unless cutting on the bias, the knife should be held so its edge is square to the board.

In this list, 3 and 4 both relate to grip; and grip relates to the cook’s comfort with a given knife handle and blade length. A good grip makes the tip an extension of the forearm, so “pointing” the tip is intuitive, safe and accurate; and holds the edge square to the board as a default.

Any grip which works that way is a good one. The one most commonly taught is the “pinch grip.” It is by no means the one and only “best” grip. In fact, the cooks I know with the very best knife skills, either use a variation on it, or a related but different, Japanese-ish version. As a personal aside (please keep it to yourself), I use a very "correct" pinch grip; my own knife skills are good but by no means great.

If you use a naïve grip for chopping, one that orients your knuckles down towards the board (like holding a tennis racket or index finger along the spine by way of examples), you’ll find the act a lot more comfortable if you learn a grip which orients your knuckles out. If you keep your wrist straight with your forearm and the knife tip, the knife will point more accurately. A soft grip is better than a tight one. If you hold your knife very tightly, you’ll find the knife points more accurately, and is ultimately more secure. Because of the elbow joint’s structure, a grip with opposed thumb and forefinger orients the knife so the edge is square to the board during a normal chopping action. Grip is a homo habilis thing – it’s a way of becoming one with simple tools, which is an important part of craftsmanship.

Craftsmanship counts in the kitchen.

(To be continued)
]]> boar_d_laze http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/524-part-viii-othe-blog-more-knife-stuff.html Part VII. KNIFE CHAT http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/522-part-vii-knife-chat.html Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:39:00 GMT Writing a coherent and reasonably short piece – say, umm, well “chapter length” -- about how to choose knives has stymied me for more than a year. I’ve made dozens of starts but haven’t finished any of them, while over the same period have written tens of thousands of words on all sorts of culinary... Writing a coherent and reasonably short piece – say, umm, well “chapter length” -- about how to choose knives has stymied me for more than a year. I’ve made dozens of starts but haven’t finished any of them, while over the same period have written tens of thousands of words on all sorts of culinary cutlery topics in the form of board posts (on CT and other forums).

The subject of choosing a knife – particularly a chef’s knife (or gyuto, or santoku) – can’t really be separated from the prospective owner’s current and near-future knife skills and sharpening regimen. These inter-dynamic relationships don’t make the subject particularly difficult, but it is complicated. Still one has to start somewhere; and one purpose in starting this blog in the first place was to get over blocks by writing and posting; the material can always (and surely will) be rewritten and reorganized later.

Another complication is simple good manners. It’s not exactly way cool to trash anyone else’s opinion by saying, “Wusthof is overrated. Don’t buy it,” when so many people love their trusty Wusties and rest secure in the thought they bought the very best. Not only is it bad manners, it’s dumb and arrogant. How many great meals have been prepped by good cooks using Wusthof knives? 47 bazillion, maybe?

And who am I to say?

May as well start, though. Experience says procrastination won’t improve the situation.

SOME BASICS

Chris Lehrer posted recently on the topic of an “Anchor knife.” The idea is that there’s a minimal set which covers nearly every knife-prep situation fairly well – and within that set there’s one knife which serves as the “anchor.”

Among those with enough money to afford a decent set and skills (or the ambition to acquire them) the anchor is usually an all-rounder. In other words, a chef’s knife or variant thereof like a santoku, kiritsuke, light Chinese “vegetable” cleaver, etc.

It’s fair to say that a chef’s knife is the best choice for most people who mostly make western style food. Cleavers and kiritsuke have their respective charms, but are an eccentric choice. Santokus are designed in such a way as to make the most of naïve skills, but aren’t nearly as productive as a full size chef’s knife.

Santokus typically run from 6” to 7” in length. The most common choice for a chef’s knife is 8”. A lot of knife “experts,” will disagree with me, but I don’t see that much of a performance difference between a 7” santoku and an 8” chef’s knife. The santoku “scoops” better than the chef’s; while the chef’s can do point work the santoku can’t. But otherwise, they’re short knives.

I don’t want to push you into anything uncomfortable for you – but once you learn a decent grip and how to keep your wrist straight (so the point becomes an extension of your forearm) a 10” knife is as easy to handle as an 8” – and a lot more productive. A chef’s (or gyuto) at around 10” is my first choice for nearly everyone as her or his “anchor.”

It should be acknowledged that the “sharpest” knife in a lot of good cooks’ homes is a steak, bread or some other form of serrated knife. Because they’re the only knives sharp enough to use, they become the anchors. Let’s get something out of the way right now. I’m not denigrating cheap, and/or serrated knives; and certainly not the cooks who use them down. There are better tools for the job – tools which are not only more efficient but allow for more possible types of preparation and which are a heck of a lot more fun. If you don’t want to upgrade, fine; if you do, consider yourself warned.

Not to digress, but terminology time: A “gyuto” is the Japanese word for a chef’s knife. Literally translated, the word means “cow knife,” or “cow sword.” I’m not sure if the term originated to describe knives that were used by beef butchers or to describe knives used by western chefs who prepared a lot more beef than Japanese cooks, or perhaps some other uniquely Japanese concept – like cows with cutlery. Whatever the etymology, nowadays the term is synonymous with chef’s knives.

Chef’s knives come in two basic profiles, German and French. A German knife has a higher choil (the “rise” at the back end of the blade – nearest the handle end, running from spine to edge at the part of the knife nearest the handle); more arc along the edge as it approaches the belly, more belly (the arc from the edge to the tip); and a higher tip.

A French knife has a straighter edge and lower choil. It gives it the appearance of being more of an acute triangle than a German knife. It also has less belly and a tip closer to the midline – nearly a “spear point.”

Because of the differences in geometry a French knife tends to be lighter, more agile, and have a point which is easier to control. German knives are heavier, are more powerful when it comes to heavy tasks like splitting chicken backs or breasts, and are better at “rock chopping,” and a little more convenient for “two hand mincing.”

Japanese gyuto are almost always French profile; sometimes with a slightly straighter edge, and often with a slightly lower tip (which means still less belly). Frequently, Japanese makers start the dip to the top on the spine later than French makers; and almost as frequently round the tip, “kamagata” or “sheep nose” style which gives the knife a distinctly Japanese look but doesn’t make the profile perform any less French.

It’s easy to overrate the differences between the profiles. A good technician will have a favorite, but be able to make the other(s) sing too. Personally, I prefer French/Japanese for their lightness, agility and ease in pointing. (In addition I prefer Japanese chef’s knives over almost all of their western counterparts for a bunch of blade-steel related reasons. We’ll get to those later.

To be continued (soon)... ]]> boar_d_laze http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/522-part-vii-knife-chat.html A Great Cook. A Great Friend http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/520-great-cook-great-friend.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:02:59 GMT Craig Bodenhorn passed away a couple of days ago. Craig was a close friend, an energetic political activist, and a brilliant chef. I met Craig almost a dozen years ago in an online politics chatroom, he was funny, charming, knowledgeable, all the good things. We shared a similar political... Craig Bodenhorn passed away a couple of days ago. Craig was a close friend, an energetic political activist, and a brilliant chef.

I met Craig almost a dozen years ago in an online politics chatroom, he was funny, charming, knowledgeable, all the good things. We shared a similar political outlook, and had very similar reactions to the other chatters we met in shared rooms. We became virtual friends quickly.

We became real friends when we started talking about food.

For a lot of reasons, most of them related to his deteriorating health, Craig spent a good deal of his last decade online. He had a lot of nicks, and if you ever chatted on MSN you may even have known him as “Blackdog” or “Hollywood Kid.” It’s not easy to be a legendary chatter – but there you go.

Craig culinary start was north-eastern “fine-dining,” in the late sixties. Back in the day, “fine-dining” was pretty much synonymous with “continental,” a cuisine which was ossified even before it became moribund. He got over it pretty quickly though. When I met him, he’d cooked through a lot of influences and was a strong practitioner and exponent of dressed up American regional. It’s fair to say he was at the forefront of “New American Bistro.”

He was early, he was solid and he was creative. Unfortunately for cooking, he wasn’t as influential as he might have been. He never quite made it to “celebrity chef,” he never wrote anything, he didn’t become a chef/owner until just before he fell ill and had to retire, and he was cooking out of Indianapolis.

To heck with everyone else. He changed my cooking for the better. Without him I never would have made sense out of the disaparate influences in my own, poor, bag of tricks.

In fact, the idea of my intended book came out of conversations with Craig. Indeed, it was first intended to be a collaboration, but he was unable to participate as much as either of us would have liked.

Craig became very ill around the turn of the new century; at about the same time he lost all his money through a fraudulent partnership. He moved away from Indiana to Oregon. With the assistance of a few friends who helped him obtain State’s assistance, and the largesse of another, he overcame some of the difficulties imposed by poverty. Unfortunately his illness was not to be denied. In the end, death came as a friend.

He is missed.

To my friends at Chef Talk, you have some big shoes to fill.

Thanks for the shoulder,
BDL ]]> boar_d_laze http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/520-great-cook-great-friend.html Dare I say it? Opening??? http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/519-dare-i-say-opening.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:41:23 GMT I'm almost afraid to write this, but if things go according to plan I will be opening on Halloween! Two weeks from this Saturday!

My contractor is on schedule. My walls are up and I'm painting starting tomorrow. It saves me a few dollars and given the surprises I've had, I need every nickel. After I've painted they are putting in the T-bar ceiling, and laying the lino in the bathrooms. My 11 foot island hood is sitting in the empty side of the building, waiting its turn to be installed. After that, we're on to tile and then... my equipment! I can order inspections and be all ready. I can hardly believe it is happening after two years with this project.

The only hold up will be if my landlord cannot get his final inspection. He has been dragging his feet way too long and I finally realized I had to turn into a business woman rather than being a nice girl. I wrote a letter to one of the VP's at the bank that owns the building, detailing all the hold ups and the lack of service that I was getting. The VP called me back and said he was meeting with all the parties involved to figure out what was left. I told him that had been done before - what was needed was a timeline.

Within a day of the meeting the SMUD (electrical utility) fees were paid as well as fees to expedite the process of installing my transformer, the signage was started, sidewalks were finished and I assume work to complete outstanding inspections was started. Lesson learned for me. I can be the nice girl when I'm dealing with clients and friends. I have to be the business woman when I'm dealing with the landlord.

I had a minor scare. The PG&E guy said the gas flow to my space was 'low flow'. This means that I have to pay $6000 to have a pipe installed that would carry enough gas to handle the BTU's. Another man took over my file and said that I was in a high flow area. Whew. Dodged that bullet.

My web site has been up for a couple weeks and I'm getting a few inquiries. Getting licenses and insurance has been the biggest sticking point.

So... anyone local is welcome to take a tour in a couple weeks. I'll post pictures in my album and you all can take a look.

I plan to have the open house on Friday, Nov. 13th. 13 has been a lucky number for this whole project - accounts opened, papers signed, my suite is 130... so it is fitting that I have a party on that day.

OMG! This is really happening! ]]> scifimom http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/519-dare-i-say-opening.html Many Grains of Salt -- Part the VIth http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/515-many-grains-salt-part-vith.html Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:20:22 GMT Long time no blog. Sorry about that, Chief. What can I say? I had a rough year. And last few months – up until early September – Oy! Don’t ask. Speaking of not asking, I’d like to thank everyone who’s encouraged me to start blogging again. One of the reasons I started this blog to begin... Long time no blog. Sorry about that, Chief.

What can I say? I had a rough year. And last few months – up until early September – Oy! Don’t ask. Speaking of not asking, I’d like to thank everyone who’s encouraged me to start blogging again.

One of the reasons I started this blog to begin with was to write about things which were hard to write about for one reason and another. In my case, the most difficult subject is knives. I’ve got a lot of information on the subject – somewhere between a book’s and a chapter’s worth. Editing it down to a useful digest is difficult, because so much of the information is contingent and/or inter-dynamic, and because there are so many different “good” and “right” choices. Worse, I’ve found is that contrary to most writing, the more organized I become the longer it gets.

While it’s something which must be eventually done, a blog entry probably isn’t the best place.

I also thought about doing a piece on sharpening – another thing promised but never quite finished. Unfinished for the same reasons – too much to say, too contingent, too interconnected, too many right ways,

Then I wondered if (barbecue) smokers might not be worth a shot. The subject presents all of the same hurdles from a writing standpoint, but for a lot of reasons, the most important of which is that there actually is a best choice for most beginners or people moving up to their first “good” smoker. Barbecues are just a lot more manageable than knives.

Eventually, a thought penetrated that block of cocobolo I call my head. The importance of making the “right” decision about the “best” piece of equipment is highly overrated. As a sort of parable, I try not to recommend most of the equipment I actually own and use. There are a lot of reasons, really. A partial list: I don’t want to use my recommendation as a validation of my own choices; I bought stuff a long time ago, and there’s better on the market; and I’m not you.

The best advice I can give about equipment purchases is to narrow down the possible options to a set – of all which are good choices. As long as you do this and bear in mind there is no “best,” you can’t go wrong.

Best advice, yes; but you and I both know that the kind of writing you see in airline magazine, which give you a sort of list of the types of choices, each and all of which according to the author are equally good, is not helpful. (That's a lot of dependent clauses, what? What?)

It’s not really fair to leave you hanging on knives, sharpening or barbecues. So let’s see what can be said meaningfully – more in terms of how than what to choose. Over the next few days (or weeks, depending on my work load), I’ll follow this entry up with a few others on those subjects. ]]> boar_d_laze http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/boar_d_laze/515-many-grains-salt-part-vith.html Serve Up Yummy Articles for your Blog Readers http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/cooksober4life/512-serve-up-yummy-articles-your-blog-readers.html Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:05:27 GMT Are you scratching your head, trying to figure out how to get more content on your blog without writing all day long? Sometimes it can be hard to come up with interesting topics that your readers are interested in reading. And, how do you attract the search engines to your blog anyway? The answer... Are you scratching your head, trying to figure out how to get more content on your blog without writing all day long? Sometimes it can be hard to come up with interesting topics that your readers are interested in reading. And, how do you attract the search engines to your blog anyway? The answer is "Recipes!" By adding a recipe-of-the-day to your blog, you'll ensure that you've always got fresh, yummy content for your visitors to "eat up". But, how do you find recipes that you can use? Before I share some of my favorite ways, let's get the legal bit out of the way.

Get yummy recipes every month :bounce: ]]> CookSober4Life http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/cooksober4life/512-serve-up-yummy-articles-your-blog-readers.html Italian chicken http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/cooksober4life/511-italian-chicken.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:55:28 GMT :lips:Prep and Cook Time: 30 min. Ingredients: 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 lg. jar spaghetti sauce of choice 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese Parmesan cheese Salt, pepper, garlic Fettuccine noodles Directions:

:lips:Prep and Cook Time:
30 min.
Ingredients:
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lg. jar spaghetti sauce of choice
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, garlic
Fettuccine noodles
Directions:
Grease large casserole dish. Season chicken
breasts with salt, pepper and garlic. Place flat
in casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes turning

once. Pour spaghetti sauce over chicken and
sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese. Bake
until bubbly and cheese has melted. Prepare noodles according to directions and serve chicken and sauce over noodles.
Top with grated parmesan cheese.

]]> CookSober4Life http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/cooksober4life/511-italian-chicken.html Orange rosemary pork chops http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/cooksober4life/510-orange-rosemary-pork-chops.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:24:20 GMT :lips: Prep and Cook Time: 25 min. Ingredients: 4 (6-oz.) boneless pork chops 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 shallot, peeled and minced 1/3 cup beef broth 1/3 cup orange juice

:lips: Prep and Cook Time: 25 min.
Ingredients:
4 (6-oz.) boneless pork chops
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and minced
1/3 cup beef broth
1/3 cup orange juice
Directions:
Season pork chops with rosemary, salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chops and cook until browned and cooked
through, about 5 minutes per side. Remove to a
serving platter and cover to keep warm. Add
shallots to the pan; sauté until shallots are soft.
Add broth and orange juice, scraping to remove any
browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil until
liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Pour
over pork chops and serve garnished with extra

]]> CookSober4Life http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/cooksober4life/510-orange-rosemary-pork-chops.html My clients have to have what?? http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/501-my-clients-have-have-what.html Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:16:59 GMT Monday is the big day. My contractor starts mapping things out on my side of the building and they start sawing away at the concrete to make trenches for the plumbing. I am giggling which is way odd for me. I'm just not the giggling type but I'm so excited. Finally! I will start seeing the final product... my little box within the 2300 sq. ft side of my building.

In the mean time, I did some searching on the web for the sanitation requirements in other kitchens and states. Some states require the person using the kitchen have a health permit on top of a business license. I checked with Sacramento County and sure enough, they want that. I can't just give a sanitation class. It has to be a nationally recognized certificate like Servsafe or Prometric. Ugh. So much for a new client calling me on Thursday night and booking for Friday.

So, my clients need to take the test and fill out the forms for the county. I have my certification and it wasn't all that hard. I read the book and took the test, passing with an 87% so the task is not insurmountable. My clients can do an 8 hour class and take the test or just read the book and do the test. The hard part is that the test has to be proctored which means they have to schedule it. Hopefully before the time they want to use the kitchen. My thought was that the client can also hire someone who has the permits and licenses to be there while they are cooking. It's an easy way around it but will cost more. At worst case they have now hired a prep chef. Rather put that person to work than have them read magazines while they cook...

There is a good side to all this licensing stuff. If the health department does an inspection and the chef isn't practicing safe food handling, then that chef is shut down and not Steel Magnolia. If on the other hand a cockroach runs across the floor then... I'm up the creek. Needless to say, being the clean freak that I am, this will never happen. Never.

I've been doing the research thing on a virtual office. I don't want to use landlines for anything so I found companies that will handle your faxes for you. You get your own fax line which actually faxes to their computer. The fax is turned into a PDF and sent to me via email. Very cool. The second really awesome thing I found is a service called Voice Cloud that handles my voice mail. I don't keep the Steel Magnolia phone on when I'm working at my client site. It is poor form to run your business when you are supposed to be working for the client. So, my phone is off. Someone calls. The service picks up the voice mail, transcribes it, sends it to me in an email and also attaches a wav file. I can just log into my email and see if I need to take a break and return the call. Isn't technology amazing?

I've also researched the whole world of accepting credit cards. It is way more complex and expensive than I thought. There are fees to set up, use a gateway, use a merchant bank and get the money. No wonder people snarl sometimes when I use my credit card. I've decided I'm going to give a 5% discount for using cash.

On top of this, there are fees for having a business bank account. Do you know they actually CHARGE you if you deposit too much cash? No kidding! I'm using a bank that lets me put in $10,000 before dinging me.

There you have it.. the update for today. I’m bringing my web site back alive in the next week or so. That is the step that makes it real. I can start booking clients if they are willing to live with a somewhat flexible opening date. (giggle) ]]> scifimom http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/501-my-clients-have-have-what.html Can we start work yet? http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/497-can-we-start-work-yet.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:52:48 GMT I posted the entry below and added pictures, but it hasn't been read by anyone, so I suspect something went wrong and it can't be seen. I took out the pictures, so let's see if that was the problem...

We're almost to the point of submitting drawings to the building, fire and health departments. There is this thing call 'wet signature'. Sounds porno almost. I have one more signature to get from the guy doing my hood and then we're ready to go.

It costs money to just talk to people. Really. I have to pay $3000 to submit drawings. Then I have to pay for licenses. I think I'm starting to bleed money.

My contractor submitted his bid to finish the rest of the building. My landlord has not reviewed it yet but said he will tonight. Do you hear my foot tapping?

I should have the new lease signed by the end of this week and I will immediately invoke the 'you are delaying me so I'm not paying until things get going' clause. I'm only paying CAMs (area maintenance, taxes and insurance) but it is still money. I have to pay the full lease rate in July.

OK -- so that was my old post. I'll catch you up to date.

We ended up having a Come to Jesus meeting. All the contractors, myself, the landlord's agent and the landlord himself showed up to discuss why the h**l nothing has been done and the lease was signed in March. Everyone started finger pointing and I sat back quietly waiting to see what happened. The landlord's agent promised to put together a task plan so we could see what was getting done when. Everyone nodded their heads and were ready to leave when I decided to speak up. I still don't have drawings for the front of the building and I had to submit my drawings knowing I would get dinged for not having the front done. I talked about how much time I had lost and how I had no faith that anything was going to happen quickly. The room got quiet. They all nodded their heads. Sigh.

A task plan was sent to all and things appeared to move along finally. There was dust and dirt flying and a freaking TRACTOR inside the building. Concrete was blasted and trenches dug. Then the news... a delay. They wanted to shore up one of the brick walls and it would take an extra two weeks. Once again I sighed. I had invoked the "you've held me up" clause and haven't been paying anything, but it doesn't seem to have mattered.

Supposedly my contractor should be in and working on MY part of the project within the next week or so. Bills are arriving from the designer and my contractor for the work his subs have done to create the drawings. All I can say is that I'm waiting and not bugging people too much because I don't think it will help.

A word of warning... designers are really, really expensive. Mine estimated $8000 and we've exceeded that. I need to win the lottery.

On the good side, I did pick carpet and am looking for pendant lights. I have an actual address with a suite number. My doors and frames have been ordered as well as the hardware. The health department has started asking questions. Things are moving.

Stay tuned! ]]> scifimom http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/scifimom/497-can-we-start-work-yet.html <![CDATA[Lunch at Hot Doug's and dinner at The Publican]]> http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/nicko/496-lunch-hot-dougs-dinner-publican.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:24:15 GMT Well if anyone reads my blog you know I am die hard pork loving kind of guy. So when my long time friend Nicholas George from culinary school came into town for a visit it was a great opportunity to try some new places. To my surprise both places Nick suggested I had not been to and were both... Well if anyone reads my blog you know I am die hard pork loving kind of guy. So when my long time friend Nicholas George from culinary school came into town for a visit it was a great opportunity to try some new places. To my surprise both places Nick suggested I had not been to and were both places I was eager to try.

Hot Doug's
===========

The first was Hot Doug's which has been a Chicago hot spot for quite a few years now. Known for their unique selection of hot dogs and sausages it is not your typical hot dog stand. Probably one of the main reasons I have never ventured to Doug's is the horror stories of the long lines. As a matter of fact one of the ChefTalk community members posted a nice thread about their visit and included a photo of the line out the door here:

http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/resta...-emporium.html

We arrived at Hot Doug’s on a Thursday around 11:00 am and it looked like we beat the noon time rush since our wait was only about 10 minutes. The place is a hole in the wall but it has character and Doug is a cool guy. The menu options are unique and I found myself having hard time trying to decide on which dog I wanted because they all looked so good. In the end we opted for one Chicago style hot dog each, one smoked crayfish hot dog, one foie gras hot dog, a large order of fries and a couple of cokes.
The Chicago classics were excellent and what you would expect. No ketchup though, and there is a sign on the wall that says “No ketchup on hot dogs” so mind your manners at Doug’s or you might get the boot. The other two dogs were excellent any like nothing I had ever tried before. I mean c’mon how often do you have a Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris served on a hot dog bun? Both sausages (Foie gras and smoked crayfish) were tasty and filling. I recommend going with one or two friends and ordering several different dogs and sharing as we did. One of these sausages is enough to fill you up with an order of fries so it pays to share so you can try different choices. It was really nice to see someone doing something so different with something so classic as a hot dog. I found myself as a former chef wishing I had come up with a similar idea.
Hot Doug’s serve duck fat fries on Friday and Saturday but if you go, go early or bring a book to read while you stand in line.

The Publican
==========

The second place my friend Nick wanted to try was The Publican, Chef Paul Kahan’s new place. Visit them at Publican - News and Events. This is my kind of place, the type of establishment that I would go back to regularly to enjoy great beers and food with friends.

The focus of the restaurant is pork and is not a good choice to take a vegetarian especially if it is your first date. Each week they get a whole pig in and break it down and make their amazing pork rinds, sausages and pates etc. Although they have some excellent seafood and chicken dishes the pork is the show piece and not to be missed. Going to the Publican and not trying at least one pork dish is like going to Paris and not trying the food. The menu changes daily at the Publican so I was disappointed to find out that they did not have the crab I had heard so much about on the menu. It should be noted that the have an excellent selection of fresh oysters on the menu but we were not there for oysters so we will have to try those on the next visit.

I really liked the layout and design of the restaurant it created a perfect atmosphere in my opinion. The restaurant team really tried to create something similar to a German style beer hall and I think they hit the mark. From the stand up tables to long communal tables to the long wooden handles on the beers on tap the ambiance was perfect.
There are some tables where patrons can sit by themselves, but I think you will have a better experience sitting at the long wooden communal tables with everyone else. We had some great conversations with our neighbors and it really ma

Here is a quick rundown of what we had:

Wines:
1976 Johannisberger Claus Riesling Kabinett (yep you read it right not a typo a 1976er and it was excellent) A gift from my friend Nick and it was so good we shared it with a few of our neighbors who also really enjoyed it.

2006 Geil, Scheurebe Kabinett, Rheinhessen, Germany (Scheurebe)

Spicy pork rinds

Bone Marrow: roasted with toast points and small parsley, shallot and caper salad

Charcuterie plate: scrapple, duck and foie gras terrine, pork pie and chorizo served with pickles and mustards

Sardines: golden raisins, pine nuts, bacon and cerignola olive

Sweetbread: bacon, mustard greens and tarragon mustard

Grilled baby octopus

Frites with George's organic egg

Little Gem salad: basil, fennel, pig's ear, radish and buttermilk-Muscatel vinaigrette

Waffle with strawberries and pear and honey butter

Whiskey kissed with pure maple syrup

I have photos of just about everything in the photo gallery so you can stop by and check it out here: Publican - ChefTalk Photo Gallery. The one area I haven’t commented on was the beers and this along with the pork dishes is one of the main reasons to visit The Publican. Unfortunately I don’t remember the beers we had and they are not on the website menu but I do remember the Belgium beer I had was excellent. They beer list is a perfect size with only 20-30 beers with about 7 on tap. Next time I will be sure to write down the beers.

In closing I have to say that The Publican is probably the best restaurant I have been to in years. The food was outstanding and there was not one dish that was under par, everything was well executed and the flavors and textures were outstanding. The service was polished and professional and that is not an easy task with communal tables. My only negative comment is that it is very loud when the restaurant is packed. The Publican is my new Chicago favorite I highly recommend you check it out. If you have eaten there I would love to hear your comments and experience. ]]> Nicko http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/nicko/496-lunch-hot-dougs-dinner-publican.html The Road through Kansas City, Part 5 http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/jim/488-road-through-kansas-city-part-5.html Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:49:30 GMT Anybody that has questions about the potential of our young people needs only to witness the demonstration of sheer tenacity, unparalleled focus and determination that was displayed at today’s competitions. I saw four-member teams construct fully operational rooms with working plumbing and... Anybody that has questions about the potential of our young people needs only to witness the demonstration of sheer tenacity, unparalleled focus and determination that was displayed at today’s competitions. I saw four-member teams construct fully operational rooms with working plumbing and electricity, complete with drywall, brick walls and wood siding. I was fixated by ‘kids’ racing from police cars with guns drawn in pursuit of ‘suspects.’ I watched a young lady produce scones, biscuits, muffins, pie crust, dinner rolls and loaf bread with the grace of a veteran baker and the composure of a ballerina. I stood by as a trio of cooks and bakers discussed the virtues of their community service to an audience of folks much older than the presenters, answer questions with effortless composure and manage to keep a dry brow despite the pressures of competition. And this was all accomplished by young people, no older than eighteen. Not in my life, would I have ever felt prepared enough to face the challenges of what I saw these kids go through.
I rest this evening, an inspired old guy. I look back on the day as an intimidated teacher, questioning my own fortitude to know more than the students that so methodically demonstrated their best. I overly smile with the anticipation of basking in the thunderous applause that will come the way of the victorious as they cross the stage before 8,000 people at the awards’ ceremony tomorrow evening. My muscles ache here and there from shuttling ovens, baking supplies and throb a bit from the occasional fast-paced jaunt across the competition floor to deliver forgotten supplies. And, I ache just a little knowing that this is the end, beyond graduation, beyond the last day of school for many of my students. We part ways, this team and I, on Saturday. We’ll have tomorrow.

]]> Jim http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/jim/488-road-through-kansas-city-part-5.html The Road through Kansas City, Part 4 http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/jim/486-road-through-kansas-city-part-4.html Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:06:46 GMT After seven years of living this cook’s life as a teacher, I have come to recognize opportune moments that are indelible, both for my students as well as me. Three of the competitors needed kitchen space to prepare food for tomorrow’s demonstration. We were generously provided unfettered access to... After seven years of living this cook’s life as a teacher, I have come to recognize opportune moments that are indelible, both for my students as well as me. Three of the competitors needed kitchen space to prepare food for tomorrow’s demonstration. We were generously provided unfettered access to a kitchen in a location that will remain nameless for now. What we found was a glorious moment in time that would serve the students well to use as an opportunity to never repeat.

Competitions reign forth tomorrow; why we are here, why the crew has endured, the sunlight wakes the dawn. And we will be up to see it. More tomorrow. ]]> Jim http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/blogs/jim/486-road-through-kansas-city-part-4.html